--------------------
STATES SCAN
-------------------
# Jammu & Kashmir: BJP and Congress leaders meet Ms. Mehbooba Mufti; government formation gathers pace
# Odisha: Forest department has began the annual bird census in Chilika, the largest winter resort for migratory birds in the Indian subcontinent
# Rajasthan: 23rd International Camel Festival - 2016 at Bikaner
# Telangana: becomes the first state to introduce compulsory gender education at the graduate level

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TAMIL NADU
-----------------
# Preparations apace in Tamil Nadu for the conduct of jallikattu
# Chief Minister, Ms. Jayalalithaa extended financial aid to two budding shooting and fencing championships (R. Rithik - Shooting [Rs. 4 lakh incentive]; C. A. Bhavani - fencing [Rs. 25 lakh every year for five years])
# Election Commission to train officials for Assembly poll
# Union Government is considering launching of shipping service between Chennai and Kanyakumari: MoS for Tourism, Mr. Mahesh Sharma
# State Arcaeological Department has taken up a programme for strengthening the conservation of the excavation site at Utkottai Maligaimedu village, Gangaikondacholapuram, where the famous Chola ruler Rajendra Chola I had constructed his palace

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AROUND THE WORLD
------------------------------
# US deployed a B-52 bomber on a low-level flight over South Korea, a show of force following North Korea's nuclear test

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SPORTS
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# Switerland's Stan Wawarinka won Chennai Open 2016; it is his fourth Chennai Open win overall
# Oliver Marach and Fabrice Martin won the Men's Doubles in Chennai Open 2016
# Chennai Open to continue till 2019
# Railways team by defeating Kerala in both the Men's and Women's team won senior National Volleyball Championship held at Bengaluru; third place bagged by Tamil Nadu in both categories
# Anthony Amalraj and Manika Batra clinched the Men's and Women's crown of the Senio National Table Tennis Championship held at Hyderabad'
# Milos Raonic (Canada) won the Men's Singles in Brisbane International Tennis 2016

Friday, 8 January 2016

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INDIA
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# When the Government is planning of "Digital India", nearly 55000 villages in India has no mobile services at all
# INS Kadmatt, second ship of Project 28 (P28) class Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Corvettes, was commissioned into the Indian Navy at Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam [INS Kadmatt is named after one of the large islands amongst the Lakshadweep group of Islands off the west coast of India]
# Pune based Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and Vikram Sarabhai Space
Centre (VSSC) are to collaborate to develop a battery for passenger cars using technology which is used to make batteries for space vehicles
# In order to avoid duplication of work and to
improve efficiency, the government merged the
Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) with
the Ministry of External Affairs
# Union government is considering a proposal to
name all airports in the country after their
respective cities and not personalities
# Union government has decided to set up laboratories for studying marine biology in coastal states and islands of Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshdweep, with a major one in the southern Peninsular region of the country
[Department of Biotechnology under the aegis of Ministry of Science and Technology will start the work of setting up these laboratories]

--------------------
STATES SCAN
-------------------
# Bihar: NHRC issued notice to government over poor condition of prisons
# Jammu and Kashmir: Chief Minister Mr. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed died; his daughter, Ms. Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed is likely to be the next Chief Minister
# Maharashtra: government has for the first time made it mandatory for a city infrastructure project (16000 crore Dharavi Redevelopment Project) to obtain a National Security Clearance (NSC) from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), New Delhi
# Odisha: Sam Pitroda appointed as Government’s Technical Advisor
# West Bengal: Bengal Global Business Meet begins today

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TAMIL NADU
-----------------
# Appeals filed against the acquittal of Chief Minister, Ms. Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case to be heard in SC today; Justice Amitava Roy has taken the place of Justice Aggarwal on the Bench for the hearing
# DMK will form strong alliance: Mr. M. K. Stalin
# A series of Madras High Court rulings has once again put the state government's solar power policy under the scanner
# DMDK general council and executive committee meeting will be held in Perambalur (tomorrow) amidst mounting pressure from partymen on chief Vijayakanth to align with DMK to take on AIADMK
# Ahead of the Tamil Nadu assembly election, the state unit of Congress levelled 25 charges against the AIADMK government
# Chief Minister, Ms. Jayalalithaa launches distribution of Pongal Gifts
# Ahead of elections, Government reshuffles a major change in Police Department

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AROUND THE WORLD
------------------------------
# Saudi Arabia targeted embassy in Yemen: Iran
# Bomb blast in Libyan police training centre kills 65
# Sikh-American (Gurbir Grewal) attorney has been appointed as the top prosecutor in the most populous county in New Jersey , becoming the first South Asian to occupy the post in the state

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ECONOMICS
-----------------
# Ms. Mary Barra becomes the first woman to become chairman of General Motors
# NDA government had been slow to move on key reforms and even failed to deliver on the reforms it had promised, thus hampering the successful functioning of a market economy: Nobel laureate, Amartya Sen
# Open multi-brand retail, e-commerce, education to more FDI: India Inc.
# ICICI Bank to partner FINO PayTech for payments bank
# As the CSI 300 index in Shanghai tanked 7% and the Chinese authorities suspended trading for the day

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MISC
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# Incredible India Campaign: Amitabh first choice to replace Aamir Khan
# FreeCharge co-founder and CEO Kunal Shah was appointed as the Chairman of Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).
# Dr Achyuta Samanta was elected as the General President of the 105th Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) that is scheduled for 2017-18; with this he becomes the second person from Odisha to be elected as President of the ISC
# British writer Kate Atkinson has won the Costa novel award for the second time in three years for “A God in Ruins”
# Novo Nordisk, Danish pharmaceutical company announced Indian cricket star Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador for the disease awareness campaign ‘Changing Diabetes’ initiated by it in India
# Priyanka Chopra has bagged the favourite actor in new TV series honour at the 2016 People's Choice Awards for her performance of an FBI recruit on American show Quantico; She becomes the first Indian actor to register a win at the People's Choice Awards
# Gajendra Chauhan assumed charge as President of FTII; triggers protest